Special Days
by dreamer one
Summary: A series of fluffy chapters, each concentrating on a holiday or other special occasion in the lives of Jack and Sam O'Neill. Oh, and by the way, they're expecting.
1. Chapter 1 A Memorable Memorial Day

A/N: This takes place six weeks after the events of the SGA episode, Trio.

**A Memorable Memorial Day**

They'd spent most of the day at Arlington.

It was a Memorial Day tradition for Jack, as it was for countless others. Visiting a cemetery on this day set aside to honor those who gave their lives for their country. It just so happened that many of Jack's fallen friends and comrades were buried at the National Cemetery as war heroes.

This year, Sam Carter accompanied him on his grim walk through the shaded hills of the place. She helped him find the plots where his friends found their final rest. It was inevitable that he got lost each and every year. In the interest of military precision and impressive simplicity, each grave marker was identical and equally spaced from the ones on either side. And today, the stars and stripes flew over each grave, a reminder of what these men and women fought to defend.

Visiting the graves of the dead had been a bittersweet experience for both of them. This year brought the new, untried angst of visiting Jacob's grave. Though he'd more than earned burial in Arlington, the military and the Tokra had followed his wishes and laid him to rest in a private graveyard outside Washington, next to his wife.

The O'Neills were married a little over a year ago. For most of that time, Sam had been in the Pegasus Galaxy, commanding an expedition often fighting for their very lives. In fact, she'd been the one fighting for her life not so long ago. If it hadn't been for Rodney McKay's heroism and quick thinking, she'd have died in a galaxy far, far away leaving a distraught widower to mourn her.

But as fate would have it, she'd survived yet again. Bruised, her leg was badly broken, but she was alive to fight another day. And now she was healed enough to spend a week on Earth with her husband.

Now it was midnight, her second day back on Earth. They'd come home to Jack's townhouse by 1900 hours after a long, emotionally draining day. Sam had offered to cook, but thought better of it when Jack deftly offered to order Chinese take-out. There was something strangely consoling about a familiar simple meal.

They sat in silence as they ate, often finding each other's eyes. If you asked Jack, words were highly overrated anyway; he could read Sam like a book and was certain she could do the same with him.

Once the remains of the meal were cleared away, the couple found their way to the small private patio behind the modest home. There, still without words, they sat together in an old fashioned metal swing Jack had refurbished with plush cushions. And watching a gorgeous sunset, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

OoOoOo

Sam woke up mere moments after sunrise. It took her awhile to remember where she was. Fortunately, she got her bearings before rolling over like she would in bed. The fall would have been humiliating if nothing else.

To her surprise, Jack was nowhere in sight. In all honesty, she wasn't all that surprised; he usually woke before sunrise. What was a bit out of the ordinary was how they'd both slept out here all night long.

Then she remembered the silence of yesterday evening, the sadness in her husband's eyes. At the time, she'd assumed he was reacting to the tears she'd shed earlier in the day at Jacob's grave, or maybe still unhealed memories of his son. This morning she wasn't so sure. All she could do was go find him and ask. It was, after all, time for a few words.

She found him at the front of the house, sitting alone in the small garden they'd put in on Saturday. They'd enjoyed working together on the project; they seldom got the chance to work side by side anymore on much of anything. He'd seemed happy to have her with him. She knew she was glad to be there.

"Jack," she called softly, walking over to him.

He turned slowly, smiled and greeted her.

"Morning," he said. "Coffee's on, I thought you'd need some soon as you woke up."

"You're right," she admitted. "I'm pretty useless without it."

Jack lapsed back to silence.

Sam was puzzled.

Whatever was going on, she'd do better getting to the bottom of it with caffeine than without. With that thought in mind, she went into the kitchen, poured two cups of the fresh, rich smelling brew and returned to the garden. Slowly she approached Jack and offered him a cup.

"Thanks," he said. "We did a good job with this yard if you ask me."

"We did," Sam agreed, leaning in to kiss him softly on the cheek.

"What's wrong?" She finally asked, worried by the flatness of his tone and the sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sam," he said. "You didn't travel thousands of light years to see me mope around.

"Jack, I doubt you've ever 'moped around' in your life," she protested. "That's beside the point. What's going on with you?"

"Same old, same old," he said. "Memorial Day, remembering everyone I've lost. Men and women under my command, those I served with, side by side, those with every bit as much right to be here, alive and happy as I do. But I'm here and they're not.

"They gave everything, Sam. Like you and me, they never really believed they'd be the ones to die. They thought they'd pull through, like they always did. But one day it didn't go down like that. And that one day was all it took. They deserved better."

Jack and Sam sat quietly again. She'd pulled up a lawn chair close to his, turning it slightly so she could see his face. And she reached out to take both of his hands in hers.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

Jack leaned forward at her question. With his right hand, he stroked her face tenderly.

"You could have died," he said, his eyes locked with hers. "If McKay hadn't found the guts to get you out of that damned mine shaft when he did, you'd have died on that godforsaken planet."

Now she understood. That's what this was about. Jack had visited her on Atlantis the day after she returned from the ill-fated mission where she and two teammates had unceremoniously fallen into a hole that turned out to be an old Genii mining facility. As luck would have it, the planet was experiencing seismic fluctuations which rendered the whole complex unstable. Then she'd gone and broken her leg. Jack was right. Without McKay's heroism she'd have been buried alive when the whole area collapsed in on itself.

"Jack," she said, still puzzled. "Its not the first time I've been in a situation like that."

"Maybe not," he said. "But that doesn't make it any easier. I know I promised not to hold you back, but the thought of losing you. You know how it feels."

"Yeah," she admitted, remembering the times she'd been driven to distraction when Jack had gone missing.

They lapsed into silence again. This time, it was companionable, less angst-filled, the tension of the past few moments starting to fade. As the sky continued to brighten and the morning moved on, Sam decided it was time for Jack's surprise. She'd waited to tell him in person. Though she'd been here for two days, for some reason she'd waited till this moment. Inexplicably, now it felt right.

"I'm pregnant," she said, without preamble.

She had his attention. Without another word, she had his undivided attention. Unerringly, Jack's eyes found hers again. They zoned in, leaving her no doubt of the intensity of her husband's reaction. Seconds later, those beautiful eyes she loved snapped shut and the corners of his sensuous mouth turned up into a heartfelt smile. He breathed deeply, the breath of new life and his eyes reopened to find hers.

Jack stood up slowly. With one hand he reached out and took his wife's hand, leading her to a standing position as well.

"Come 'ere," he whispered. And Sam was wrapped in Jack's arms, his lips pressed to her forehead.

"You're pregnant," he echoed, simply to hear the words.

"Six weeks, Jennifer tells me," Sam said.

"My visit," he knew immediately,

"That's the one," she confirmed.

"I love you," he said simply, his face tucked in against her neck, inhaling her fragrance.

"I'm coming home," Sam added.

Predictably, at Sam's final announcement, Jack pulled back from the embrace, just far enough to see her face.

"Home? Earth?" He asked. "Leaving Atlantis?"

"Yes," she said. "Unless you have any objections."

"No, no objections," Jack said softly. He could feel unfamiliar moisture gathering in his eyes. He so did not want to cry.

"That's why you have the meeting with the IOA tomorrow," he ventured.

"Exactly," she said. "I'm going to tell them I'm leaving for medical reasons as soon as my replacement can be found. I'm not taking any chances with our baby."

In spite of his best efforts, salty water, otherwise known as tears, leaked slowly from both of Jack O'Neill's eyes.

"Hey," Sam said. "I thought this would be happy news."

"It is," Jack said. "These are 'happy tears'."

Sam grinned, remembering how uncomfortable her tears made him and how many times she'd used that line.

"That's my excuse," she quipped. "I am a woman after all."

"That's a bit sexist, don't you think," Jack said with a smirk.

"Absolutely," Sam shrugged.

"Just because my reproductive organs are on the outside …" he started, stopping in his tracks as his wife began to guffaw loudly.

"Hey, if the line's good enough for the most brilliant woman on the planet," he protested.

The last comment was rewarded with one of his wife's heart stopping smiles.

"I love you, Jack O'Neill," she said. "Happy tears, sad tears, cock-eyed smile, I love it all."

From now on, Memorial Day would hold happy memories for a couple who deserved as much happiness as their hearts could hold.

The End.

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	2. Chapter 2 A Thoughtful Fourth

A Thoughtful Fourth

Morning sickness – what a strange name for an affliction that appeared whenever it damn well saw fit. At least that's the way Samantha Carter felt as she recovered from her latest bout of vomiting. Her obstetrician had assured her the nausea would become less frequent as she moved into her second trimester. She could only hope he was telling her the truth.

This time it just happened to be morning, the morning of July 4th. A holiday dedicated to celebrating the country she, Jack and so many others had fought to defend. It was also called Independence Day. Tied to the bathroom as she'd been lately, the last thing Sam Carter felt was independent.

She'd said goodbye to her posting on Atlantis one week after telling Jack the news of her pregnancy. That was Memorial Day. It seemed a lifetime ago. So much had changed.

This was supposed to be a happy holiday, full of family gatherings and celebrations, the high point of the early summer season. But right now morning sickness and recent events conspired to make this day less than joyful. In fact Sam felt downright morose as she sat alone in her front yard watching the sun come up.

General Hammond had passed away unexpectedly exactly one week ago today. A massive coronary they'd said. At least with her dad she'd had a chance to say goodbye. But the General...

"Morning," a familiar sleepy voice called from behind her. "I made coffee, if you're up to it."

It was a testimony to how miserable Sam felt, physically and emotionally, that she'd gotten this far into her day without coffee.

"I think I'll skip it," she said. "I'm enjoying the water and saltine diet at the moment."

Jack pulled up a chair next to her. Casually, he reached over and took her hand in his. Without missing a beat, he joined his wife in silently staring at the slowly rising sun.

"I thought we could watch fireworks tonight," he suggested after the sun had cleared the horizon.

Venturing into a crowd of Fourth of July revelers tonight was definitely not something Sam wanted to do.

"Maybe ...," she said. Jack didn't need to be a mind reader to know she was light years away.

"You don't feel so good, do you?" he ventured.

"Stomach's a bit off again," she answered. "Morning's not my best time of day recently, case you haven't noticed." For the first time since he'd joined her, Sam turned to face him. There were tears in her eyes and her cheeks were wet.

"Hey, do I need to call the doctor?" Jack asked, realizing Sam's high pain tolerance, and worrying there might be a problem with the baby.

"No," she shook her head. "Just let me cry on your shoulder a bit. The hormones aren't making this any easier."

"George?"

She nodded gently, her eyes fixed on his, her grief palpable.

"It's strange," she said. "He'd been trying to get you to call him by his first name the last couple years. Now he's gone, all of a sudden he's George."

"Yeah, strange," he agreed. "I wish that was all it was. We're going to miss him."

"I already do," Sam said. "In a lot of ways he was a second father to me. He reminded me so much of Dad. He was great."

"He was," Jack agreed. "Any other CO, I'd have been out a long time ago."

In spite of herself Sam giggled. It was her first dose of typical Jack levity today. She needed it badly.

"General Hammond did put up with a lot from you, didn't he?"

"You too… no?" Jack stated more than asked.

"Me … I was helpful," Sam insisted, "the foremost expert on the Stargate and all that."

"Right," Jack mouthed teasingly. With that he leaned over and kissed her gingerly, effectively warding off the elbow in the side he knew was coming.

And then she did lean in and cry on his shoulder.

OoOoOo

Several minutes later, Jack had shed a few tears of his own. Never one for long drawn out "talk about our feelings" sessions, he decided to change the subject.

"This is the first time you'll be spending the fourth here," he said. "You know, at the house, our house."

"Your point?"

"The roof is good for more than stargazing you know," he said.

She nodded, cooperating with Jack's attempt to lighten the mood.

"We have done other things there as I recall, " Sam said thoughtfully.

He smirked, that great, close mouthed grin of his where his eyes lit up in boyish mischief.

"Yes, we have," he acknowledged. "But there is a third thing that roof is good for, an unobstructed view of the local fireworks display.

"You mean we can stay home and watch them?"

"And make our own while we're at it if you're up to it."

"That's why I love you, always thinking of my welfare," Sam teased.

They were going to be okay, more than okay. And it would have made George Hammond very happy indeed.

The End (until the next holiday.

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	3. Chapter 3 Happy Birthday, Jack

Special Days

A/N: As you can tell I renamed this little series of fluffy chapters. Each chapter focuses on a holiday or special day during Sam's pregnancy.

Chapter 3: Happy Birthday, Jack

Daniel and Teal'c were arriving in less than an hour.

Everything was ready. Sam was proud of herself. She'd managed to organize a surprise birthday party for her husband with a minimum of fuss and muss. Given the circumstances and Jack's feelings about his birthday, that was saying a great deal.

This was the first birthday Sam would be home to share with _her husband_. She wanted it to be special. Last year she'd been sequestered in Atlantis and birthday greetings were confined to hurried words of love and devotion transmitted over light years. Sitting here today, she marveled to think she'd survived the deprivations of that long distance relationship. She'd missed him so much.

Now, finally married to the love of her life, Sam had learned birthdays were a bitter sweet occasion for Jack O'Neill. Somewhere along the line, her stoic husband and his military bravado had yielded to the knowledge that people cared about him and wanted to express that on special days. Still the last thing he wanted was a cast of thousands fawning over him. So she'd settled for something in between, a simple dinner party shared with their old teammates.

As much as Jack had mellowed, some things would never change. Even now, Sam knew his age was a sore subject. Despite doing all she could to reassure him, she could feel his disdain for the ordinary signs of aging he experienced on a daily basis. Recently he went so far as to verbalize his worry over whether he'd be young enough to be a good dad to his new child. Sam had come to realize this was one of Jack O'Neill's weak spots, his own mortality. For a man who'd dedicated himself to saving others at the risk of his own life, it was to be expected. When he saw those traditional abilities to protect and serve diminishing, he started to question his own worth.

Sam wished Jack could know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much he was worth _in her life_. He was everything. The last few months had been difficult to say the least. For a woman used to the ultimate in freedom and excitement, beyond most humans' wildest dreams, her new found physical limitations had been potentially debilitating. Now six months pregnant, she'd suffered a threatened miscarriage last month, this time severe enough to warrant strong admonitions from her obstetrician. To make a long story short, Dr Eames had told her she had a choice. Continue her usual level of activity, running between the SGC to Area 51 to Washington or have a healthy baby. To Sam's way of thinking, it was no choice. So for the past month, she'd stayed put in Washington. In fact, she'd spent much of her time at home, getting the recommended amount of rest.

Jack had been wonderful. Where Sam felt guilty about being in a position to merit such a stern medical warning, Jack had been understanding and soothing. More than anyone else, he understood Sam's determinaton to continue her professional duties. At the same time he shared her dismay that those same actions, once so noble and selfless, might have jeopardized the safety of their precious child. From then on, Jack had done everything in his power to help Sam adapt to her new status, expectant mother, working from home and tethered to activity restrictions intended to preserve the pregnancy. Sam realized he understood, related even, to her shifting physical abilities and the necessity of giving up certain fixtures in her life. He'd encouraged her to find ways to interface with the SGC labs and complete her responsibilities, even participate in the research via high security, encrypted internet connections. And bless his heart, when he came home from his own high pressured job at the Pentagon each night, he'd seemed genuinely interested in everything she'd learned in the process. If she wasn't mistaken, he even made more of an effort to discipher her endless technobabble.

Sure, he was far from perfect, that is if one looked for imperfections. Jack had his "guy" moments. Even as a career military officer, certain articles of clothing found their way to the floor or were stuffed behind pillows on the sofa. The kitchen was less than ship shape when Jack, the gourmet cook, was finished and some personal hygiene issues left something to be desired, but all in all, Sam hardly noticed. All of this was simply part of the man she loved, warts and all. And that's who she'd be celebrating these next couple days.

To be exact, Jack's birthday was tomorrow. Where Sam had staked out that day for just the two of them (Jack had taken the day off for an undisclosed private surprise), today's dinner party was a bonus. The old team hadn't been together since their wedding. They were long overdue for some quality time together. Sure they'd kept in touch, but it wasn't the same.

oOoOoO

At 1800, right on schedule, Daniel and Teal'c arrived. Teal'c had surprisingly volunteered to pick up a cake at a local bakery on the way from the airport. After the initial jovial, happy to see each other greetings, Sam took a minute to curiously examine the professionally created cake Teal'c had proudly handed her.

"Teal'c?" Sam queried.

"Yes, Samantha," the Jaffa replied, his inflection displaying the playful lilt he'd adapted over the last few years.

"This cake is incredible," she observed. Sam had opened the white baker's box to reveal an expertly crafted twelve inch chocolate cake, sporting what was clearly a colorful, amazingly accurate depiction of the Stargate as its central decoration.

Daniel took up the challenge.

"You want to know how he got them to decorate the cake without divulging top secret information," he suggested.

"I _was_ wondering," Sam admitted with a twinkle in her eye.

"I simply described what I wanted," Teal'c explained flatly. "There was no discussion."

"Indeed," Sam quipped. With a flash of amusement, she realized few people, let alone an unsuspecting baker, would dare ask Teal'c many questions.

"So how are you?" Daniel asked, gesturing awkwardly toward Sam's expanding abdomen. "I see the baby's growing."

Sam laughed out loud. She'd missed these guys, they were good friends, the best. Commmunicating via e-mail and long distance phone connections wasn't the same. And so she spent the next few minutes catching them up as they waited for Jack's arrival. It was like talking with family; they were family, interested and concerned for her safety and well being. Over the next few minutes they talked and laughed and talked some more. They were so intent on each they nearly missed the warning signs that the guest of honor was approaching.

"Holy Hannah," Sam exclaimed, attempting to jump up from the sofa. "That's Jack!" she said, finally registering the sound of the garage door opening.

Teal'c quickly came to Sam's aid, pulling her to a standing position.

"Thanks," she said, shaking her head. Never did she think it would take so much effort to stand up.

"I parked down the street," Daniel said. "So lets turn out the lights and really surprise him."

Teal'c was already on it. The room was cast in total darkness by the time Jack opened the door from the garage. Sam couldn't help but think she was standing with two of the biggest little boys in the world, just waiting for the third. Silly as it all might be, it did her heart good.

"Surprise," the three yelled, as Jack ventured over the threshold. As Teal'c flicked on the lights, the look on Jack's face was priceless. Total, unadulterated surprise followed an initial look of alarm. Sam swore she could hear Jack thinking as he realized who was innocently lying in wait for him. Then the smile, that marvelous quirky smirk that always signaled his delight at something out of the ordinary. Usually, she realized, that something was connected to her. Today, Jack's reaction took in their teammates as well.

"Sam..." he began.

"Guilty as charged," she replied walking over to him and bestowing his first birthday vigil kiss.

"Get a room you two!" Daniel called playfully.

"They cannot as you say 'get a room'", Teal'c quipped. "They have company."

"Yes, we do," Jack said, pulling back from Sam just enough to grin at Daniel and Teal'c.

"Happy Birthday, Jack," Sam whispered.

"And a fine birthday it is, couldn't be better," Jack replied.

The evening had begun. The team was together and all was well with the world. No finer gift indeed.

The End (of this chapter)

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A/N: love to know if you liked it. Please review.

See you at the next "special day".


	4. Chapter 4 First Kiss

Chapter 4: First Kiss

They drove in silence.

It was a beautiful early fall afternoon. The O'Neills, safely belted into their new Subaru wagon, drove away from the medical office building where Sam had weathered yet another anxiety inspiring check-up. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she didn't feel much like talking.

Although Sam trusted, even liked, her obstetrician, she didn't like what the highly competent woman had to say. A person who valued the truth, Sam almost wished Dr. Eames would be a bit less specific in her predictions. All she heard these last few visits was a recitation of what could go wrong with the pregnancy. Jack, usually sitting in on these visits, always insisted the doctor had said far more than that, but Sam managed to focus on the negative. Time and time again, she'd come away with a litany of what her body might do to jeopardize their child.

Part of her knew she was being irrational. Still, the other part worried, worried and worried some more. It was bad enough her body, at the elderly age of forty-two, refused to function in the way it had when she was a non-pregnant twenty-two year old. To add insult to injury, Sam felt her current condition was forcing Jack to make changes he shouldn't have to make. This car for one; Sam knew her husband loved his truck. Still he'd traded it in for a vehicle she could get into more easily during these late weeks of pregnancy. And his job, the hours he'd taken off already just to accompany her to appointments, well the time was considerable.

"What'cha thinking?" Jack asked as nonchalantly as he could. A silent Sam, especially after one of these checkups, was usually not a good thing. His wife was developing quite an ability to dwell, and the outcome was seldom positive these days.

Sam took a moment to pull herself out of her own troubled thoughts. Startled to realize she'd totally ignored Jack since leaving the doctor's office, she turned toward him in the front seat of their new car.

"Sorry," she said, "I was in my own little world."

"You do that more and more these days," he answered, concern clear in his voice, his eyes fixed responsibly on the road ahead.

"I know," Sam replied. Then with a deep sigh, "Jack, I'm sorry I'm so much trouble. Women have babies all the time, and here I am, making a big deal out of it. What if I can't do it?"

The Subaru had been peacefully navigating the two lane highway from the medical center for the past ten minutes. All of a sudden, Jack signaled, slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. With the car safely in park, he turned to face his startled wife.

"The word genius is highly overrated," he said flatly.

"What?"

"You heard me," Jack said stubbornly. "You're a genius. I'm disappointed. I thought you'd know better."

"Know better than …?" Sam queried innocently.

Jack reached up to hold Sam's face in his hands, wiping away the tears that spilled unbidden. He had to admit, it frightened him to see his normally confident wife so ill at ease.

"Better than to think you could be a failure at anything," he said softly. "Better than to think I'd ever see you as trouble," Jack continued, doing his best to send her every shred of sincerity and love he could in his words.

Sam nodded silently, swiping impatiently at the tears she struggled to control.

Without further ado, Jack leaned in and kissed her gently, once on the lips, then on the forehead. Then, he returned to his usual driving position and put the car in gear. Within seconds, they were back in the flow of traffic.

For her part, Sam did her best to refocus her mind. Drying her tears, she began to notice her surroundings. At nearly 1800 hours, on this fall afternoon, the sun was low in the sky. They were clearly heading west; home was in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Jack asked innocently.

"Jack … where are we going?" Sam repeated.

"Oh … that," he said. "It's a surprise."

Surprise?"

"Sure," he said without missing a beat. "After all, it's a special day."

Sam thought for a minute, wracking her brain as to what special day it could be. She was pretty good at remembering holidays, birthdays, anniversaries. As she went through her mental catalogue, this particular date didn't seem to stand out.

"Tell me you don't remember," Jack teased, doing his best imitation of being wounded. "I'll have you know, this day meant a lot to me."

At that moment, Jack took a turn off the highway into a small secluded park. Sam knew this place.

She looked at Jack as he pulled over at a small clearing.

"It happened right under that tree, just before sundown, three years ago."

She couldn't believe it. He remembered. She almost didn't.

"How…?"

"How could I forget?" he responded, assuming the question. "After 10 years of waiting, how could I forget our first kiss?"

How he'd remembered this, Sam would never know. There hadn't been any commemorations the past two years.

She did remember this place though, coming to this place with Jack, three years ago, same time of year. She'd come to visit him in Washington. They'd both had enough of pretending and one thing led to another. Before either one knew what was happening, they were finally confessing their feelings. Soon they were in each other's arms. Just remembering that now helped her mood immeasurably. It would be okay. Jack was here, they were together and together they could do just about anything.

Sam graced her husband with one of her megawatt smiles, a full on reflection of joy she'd kept hidden the last few weeks. As Jack reached out to her, she realized the exact date really didn't matter. What mattered was that Jack had gone to the trouble of making this a special day.

"Come on, I brought a picnic," Jack said, a satisfied grin greeting her eyes. "Food, beer, milk for you of course, blankets, sweaters, everything we need."

"Of course you did," Sam answered. Holding Jack's eyes, she reached back to grasp his hand, holding it tightly in her own.

"Thank you," she said.

Their track record was clear, they could handle anything, Goa'ulds, picnics, or birthing babies. All she needed to do was remember that and act accordingly. They'd get through this together. They always had.

TBC

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A/N: I was in story writing withdrawal, so I manufactured another special day for our favorite couple. Hope you liked.


	5. Chapter 5 Halloween

Chapter 5: Halloween

On a frosty late October morning, Sam woke up alone. To her surprise, a long white dress bag covered the foot of the bed. A similiar bag had been tossed over the side of a nearby chair.

"Jack," she called. Sam knew her attentive husband hadn't gone far. She correctly assumed he was in the kitchen starting breakfast, a much appreciated habit he'd developed the last few weeks.

"Morning," Jack said, poking his head around the door of the bedroom, apron on, omelet pan in his hand.

"Jack, what's with the bags?" Sam asked.

"What bags?"

"The big white ones that say 'Arlene's costumes' in large print," she answered with a straight face. She was not amused.

"Oh, those," he said. "Costumes, they're costumes."

Sam rolled her eyes. _That information was certainly helpful_, she thought.

"Costumes for ... ?"

Before answering, Jack put down the omelet pan and walked over to the bed. He took Sam's face in his hands, kissing her chastely on the tip of her nose. That otherwise sweet sentiment was often a prelude to an outrageous Jackism of some sort or other. Sam knew she was in for it. _What has he done_, she wondered.

"They're for our favorite holiday .. Halloween," Jack said. His matter-of-fact tone implied she should know such a basic fact.

"You mean _your_ favorite holiday?" Sam retorted.

Jack pulled a face.

"Really? You dressed up last year," he said. "I thought you had a good time."

"I did," she relented. Sam couldn't believe she was actually feeling sorry for him. Jack enjoyed dressing up for Halloween; it was an excuse to let his inner child out to play. She didn't want to spoil it for him. "But I wasn't nearly 8 months pregnant last year," she added.

"There's that," Jack said. "But this is a great costume for your ... current condition ... trust me, it'll look great."

"Fine," she said. "Let's take a look."

With that Sam gingerly picked up the hanger from the bed and slid the bag off the garment

"What is it?" she asked

"It's a dress," he answered. _For a smart woman ..._ he thought_._

"For what century?" Sam asked, holding up the off the shoulders outfit. The Elizabethan gown sported an empire waist and hooped skirt. Jack was right, it would conceal some of her more flagrant physical changes.

"About the fifteenth," Jack said with a shrug. "I think, anyway. When was Shakespeare around?"

"It isn't ..."

"Yeah," Jack said, a twinkle in his eye, "why not?"

"Because I'm over forty and very pregnant?"

"So?"

"Oh for crying out loud," she said. Sam knew she was in over her head when she resorted to Jack's favorite phrases. Still, she refused to admit defeat and forged ahead. "Juliet was what... about fourteen?"

"Probably," Jack admitted. "Your point?"

Sam looked up at Jack from where she was sitting on the bed. Against her better judgment, she could feel the corners of her mouth starting to turn up in a smile.

"And your costume?"

"Do you have to ask?" Jack said, his voice dripping with feigned disappointment. "I'm going as a wise, battled tested, extremely sexy Romeo, the love of Juliet's life."

Sam wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The hormones didn't help. Neither did the fact that Jack chose that moment to unwrap his own costume and hold it up in all its glory. In the end it was the thought of Jack wearing the brightly colored tights and pantaloons that tipped Sam over the edge. And she began to laugh. Big fat peels of laughter threatened to erupt before she dipped her head and covered her mouth, doing her best to exercise some restraint.

When she dared to look up, she saw a huge grin on Jack's face.

"What, not manly enough for you?" He asked innocently.

All bets were off. She started to giggle and once she started, she couldn't stop. Jack sat down next to her, and joined right in. Both costumes fell to the floor. Jack and Sam fell into each other's arms.

Coming up for air, Jack let Sam in on his master plan.

"In our reality, Romeo and Juliet lived," he said. "They grew up and grew old together. And they had a great kid ... or two."

"Of course they did_,_" Sam said, her eyes twinkling, her lips claiming Jack's for a tender kiss. Without hesitation, "Romeo" returned the favor. Minutes later, "Juliet" surrendered.

"Fine," Sam said as they broke apart. "I'll wear it. Remember, you owe me one."

"Oh yeah, more than one ..."

TBC (at Thankgiving)

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A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Please review!!


	6. Chapter 6 Grateful Hearts

A/N: This chapter especially written for Shipsgiving 2008 at Gateworld

Grateful Hearts.

It was the first snow of the year. Only a scant two inches, but for the bustling metropolis of Washington, D.C., it might as well have been a foot. Washingtonians and snow simply did not mix. In some ways, the storm's timing was fortuitous; tomorrow was Thanksgiving. Businesses and government offices would be closed, taking the burden off the normally clogged roadways.

That in itself was a reason to be thankful, Sam mused. Even Jack had the day off tomorrow, barring any galactic emergency. She smiled as she realized how happy she was with the idea of having him all to herself, even if only for one day. Plans had been for Daniel, Teal'c and Cam Mitchell to join them for the holiday, but the weather had effectively closed the airport for the night. Not even the Head of Homeworld Security could justify a beam out by the Daedalus for the sole purpose of a turkey dinner. Sam would miss her good friends, but time alone with Jack had become more and more precious recently.

He'd been so busy. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of her husband. Jack was so much in demand he'd been unable to take her to the hastily re-scheduled obstetrician appointment this morning. It was the first appointment Jack had missed. She could tell he felt terrible about it. He'd made sure she had a friend to accompany her at the last minute and called shortly after his meeting ended to be sure everything was alright. He must have apologized a half dozen times.

Sam knew he wanted to be there for her. What's more, he didn't want to miss anything having to do with their child.

She loved Jack for his attentiveness. And she realized there were times even the great Jack O'Neill couldn't talk the President out of a meeting. So Sam set out to help her devoted husband feel better about things. It started with a special request of the ultrasound technician and a little trip to the local electronics store. Jack wasn't going to miss a thing about their baby, not if she could help it.

That afternoon, Sam made herself as busy as her heavily pregnant frame would allow. Cooking, cleaning and generally fussing to be certain everything was in place for a lovely dinner for two tomorrow. It would be their first Thanksgiving together in the same galaxy as a married couple, and she wanted to make the most of it. Tired as she was after a very long day including this morning's appointment with the obstetrician, she was excited about the holiday and about what she'd found out at the appointment.

That's where Jack's impromptu present came in.

OoOoOo

Jack arrived home near midnight. He'd called three times that evening explaining interruption after interruption and telling her not to wait up.

"Sam, I'm sorry," he said the moment he came in the door and saw her up and waiting for him. "I kept trying to get away, but with the holiday, it was one thing after the other. No one was taking no for an answer."

"Enough with the apologies," Sam said, walking up to him and kissing him gently. "Come on, I've got a surprise."

She led him into the living room. Stripping off his jacket and his tie, Jack dropped tiredly into his favorite seat on the couch. He reached out to Sam and she sat down beside him.

"What's that?" Jack asked when they were both seated.

"What?'

He smirked.

"You know what," he teased. "That wrapped package on the coffee table, right in front of us. The one I'm too tired to move to pick up."

"Oh, that," Sam said. "That's your gift."

"Tell me I forgot Christmas," Jack quipped

She rolled her eyes

"No, you didn't forget Christmas."

"Now I feel bad, I didn't know we gave gifts for Thanksgiving."

"Don't worry," Sam said, "it's your welcome home present. I missed you."

Jack smiled.

"Back at you," he said. With that Jack sat up and grabbed his present. He proceeded to rip off the wrapping paper with all the finesse of a five-year-old.

"Looks complicated," he said once the gift was revealed. "What is it?"

Sam giggled. Jack knew perfectly well what a digital photo frame was. But he'd taken to acting totally helpless lately when faced with any piece of technology, no matter how simple. It was driving her a bit crazy. Actually she figured he kept it up because the act always seemed to make her laugh these days. _Go figure... must be hormones_, she thought.

"Make it work," he whined.

Sam turned it on. The audio component kicked in immediately, a steady swooshing sound emanating from the concealed speakers.

"What is it? Jack asked. "One of those wave ... relaxation ... thingies?"

"No, silly," Sam said, trying not to laugh. "Wait, I need to get the picture up."

"My brilliant wife ...," Jack quipped, "even she can't work this thing."

Once the picture snapped on, Jack's attention focused. It was a video recording. Looked like those ultrasound pictures he and Sam got at the appointment...

"That's him," Sam said.

"Him?"

"Yep."

"Him who?"

Sam shook her head. _Just when I thought he was ready to be serious for a minute._

"Our son," she said, taking his hand and squeezing tightly. "We got a good look at him today," she added. "He's a him alright."

Sam turned to look at Jack who'd suddenly fell silent. He was staring at the ten inch monitor he held in his hands, transfixed by the ultrasound recording playing before his eyes, watching the first movements of his _son_. Little by little, the corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes began to glisten with telltale moisture.

Then Jack turned towards her, ever so slightly, enough to catch her eye. He mouthed a single word.

"Perfect."

The End.


	7. Chapter 7Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As she heard the front door open, Sam O'Neill quickly minimized the windows on her laptop. Now nearly nine months pregnant, she'd taken advantage of this quiet morning and Jack's absence to do quite a bit of on-line Christmas shopping. Between doctor's orders and her naturally expanding girth, she'd become a couch potato lately; point and click had become the extent of her physical exertion. _Disgusting,_ she thought. Worse yet, she had three to four weeks remaining before her projected delivery date. By then she was sure to be totally incapable of any movement whatsoever.

"Anybody home?" Jack's teasing voice echoed through the house. He knew as well as she did Sam wasn't going much of anywhere these days.

"In here," Sam called, not bothering to get up. She'd deftly hidden the evidence of her gift buying indiscretions beneath yet another page of the astrophysics text she'd been writing. What Jack didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

As usual these days, Jack knew right where to find her.

"Hi, beautiful," he said smartly, bending to bestow a tender kiss as soon as he entered the room. "How are you and junior feeling?"

Sam scowled at him.

"Okay, I know, not Junior," he apologized.

"I suppose we should decide on a _real_ name before he arrives," Sam said.

"Yeah, we should," Jack agreed, falling onto the sofa and putting his feet up. "Speaking of which, how's his mother doing?"

Sam carefully pushed up and away from her computer desk. Holding her hand against the small of her back to counterbalance the weight, she walked over to the sofa. Jack held out a hand to ease her down. Even with the assist, Sam exhaled with a huff as she landed next to her husband.

"I hope this little guy comes soon," she said. "I'm big as a house."

"But it's a beautiful house," Jack quipped.

"You…!" she spat, playfully hitting his arm.

"Hey, no fair," he said. "I can't hit a pregnant woman, even if it is all in fun."

"Hmfff!" Sam snorted. "Do you know what I want for Christmas?"

Jack wrinkled his nose and furtively looked around the room. He'd recently completed what he'd believed was a major shopping coup, commissioning a beautiful piece of jewelry he was sure she would love. He hoped he hadn't totally missed the boat. But what the heck, whatever Sam wanted, he'd get it for her.

"Nope, you never wrote me a 'dear Santa' letter," he said. "What _do_ you want for Christmas, little girl?"

Sam didn't miss a beat as she answered with a straight face.

"I want you to take a turn carrying this baby."

Jack's eyes got very big. His mouth opened, but no words came out. And beneath the ever present tan, Sam could swear he went pale.

"You mean after he's born, right?" Jack queried.

Sam nearly choked trying to maintain her composure.

"No, right now," she said.

"Have I missed something about the male, female gender thing?" Jack asked tentatively. He knew enough by now not to put anything past his brilliant wife. For all he knew, she'd figured out a way to do this.

Generously, Sam decided to put him out of his misery. She really hadn't expected him to take her seriously.

"I'm _kidding_," she said.

Jack breathed deeply. He didn't even realize he'd been holding his breath.

"Good," he said. "I was worried there for a minute."

"Don't think you could do it, do you," she teased.

Jack could tell she was trying so hard not to giggle.

"Go ahead," he said, "laugh. I can take it."

And she did, her shoulders shaking with the effort, one hand holding her greatly distended abdomen.

"I can't believe you thought I was serious."

"I always take you seriously, Doctor-Colonel Carter-O'Neill," he said. "Besides, I never argue with a pregnant woman."

"Right," Sam smirked.

"Do I hear sarcasm?"

"Learned from the best," she quipped.

_Time to change the subject_, Jack thought.

"So, do you think we'll be parents by Christmas?"

Sam's eyes lit up. "Could be," she said. _Oh I hope so_, she thought.

"Okay," Jack said. "That's what I call the 'most wonderful time of the year'."

Sam smiled, laid her head on his shoulder, and was satisfied. He might not be able to carry this baby for her right now, but Jack did a darn good job of loving and supporting her every step of the way. And that was the best Christmas gift of them all.

The End

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A/N: Best wishes for a great holiday season!


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